Tractor hitch



1,620,937 E. E. BASHOR ET AL TRACTOR HITCH March l5, 1927.

altouwg 1, 2 March 15, 1927. E. E. BASHOR ET AL 6 0937 TRACTOR HITCH Filed May, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar.` 15, 1927. p

-UNirLED STATES PATE:

E MnRY lnasnon iAND nnwann Yn. wam?, yor :BERT-noun, oononnno.

` TRACTOR nrrcn.

.Application iled May .3I 1926. Serial No. 106,388.

This .invention Vrelates to .improvements vin tractor hitch devices and has reference :more

.particularly .tov that particular class of trac tor .hitches .that are 4used .for 'hitching two way Vp'lows to tractors.

It isinow.generallyconceded that plowing canbe .most effectively performed yby means of tractors .and this has led .to the rapidv adoption of tractors for thispurpose. lux- -perience has shown., however, that thefsat- ,isfactory use of a tractor for plowing isv .dependent .to -a .great extent upon the man- .ner in which the plows .are secured to the tractor. It is, for example, necessary that the plows shall 4be so connected to .thetractor .that they may be easily raised for transv.portation `and lowered andv that the depth vof .the furrow shall be .easily controlled.v Ifl .the .field contains stones, roots or other ob'- structions, it is desirable that the plow shall beable to Vraise .itself out lof theA ground because if 4it can not do this it will frequently be broken or damaged.. AThe yhitch should also vbe so constructed that it will 'eliminate to as great .an extentas ipossible'side draft, yand besides all this the hitch should be so .made that itand the plows can readily be removed.

The tractor vhitch that forms the subject of kthis invention is designed so that Jthe different advantages pointed out above are attained and which in addition is of very simple Ybut of a substantial construction which can bequite cheaply .made and readily assembled and attached tothe tractor.

VThe hitch that forms the subject of this invention can be most clearly described-.and will be most readily .understood when reference `is'fhad to the accompanying vdrawings in which the lpreferred .form of the invention has been villustrated -andin which: Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the rear "end of a tractor to which a `two way plow has been attached by means of` the hitch that forms the subject-of .this invention;

Fi-g. 2 'is a section taken on line 2-`-.2,

Fig. 3 Ais a View taken on line 3---3 7 Fig. A2; Fig. 4 is -a section taken on line .fl-4,

ligcl; ig. 5 is a .section taken -on `line 5 5., Eig.2;

Fig. .6 a section takenon line V6e-'6, Fig. grand Fig. 7` is a section taken on line 7 7, Fig. 2.

"In the drawings .the invention has been yshown in its relation to the tractor and'to As thehitch is attached to thev the plows. rear of a tractor and isv not directlyv dependent lon the steering mechanism -or interior construction, only 'those parts of the tractor that cooperate 4with the hitch have been illustrated.` f

The two lparts A and B of the tractor are eachprovided with flanges v1l and lthese flanges are .perforated for the reception of clamping bolt-s2. lThe rear end 'of the section B has -a cylindrical portion C 'that forms the outer wall of the "transmission housing to .the ends fofy which the'ax'le housingsections 3 and 4 are secured by means of top bolts 5. A two partV axle '6 extends through'the rear axle housing and to :the U outer end of each section la drive wheel 7 is secured. Projecting rearwardly 'from the underside of section C is aperforated ylug 8. A plate of angular lcross section having flanges-9 and 10 issecured againstfthe flan e 1 -ofthe member B by means of bolts 2in themanner shown in '6. The vertical flange 10y is lcuryed-y in vthe manner shown so as to 'conform to vthe curvature of the section`v B. The lhorizontal flange '9 has a central opening `for the reception of a pin 11 that serves as a Apivot for the evener 12 to which reference will vbe made herein-` after. The main part of this hitch comprises a supporting fra-me having two Vpara allel sides 13 and 14 anda straight connect-r ing member 15. The endsof the side members 13 and 14 are veach gprovided with an arcuate portion` l'whose ends 17 and 1.8 (Fig. 7) extend radially. .The end 17 has a .hole for the reception of the eye '19 ofthe clamping bolt 2O and the end 18 .is forked in the manner indicated. by numeral 21. rlhe end of the bolt :.20 that is located in that serves as 2in-adjusting means, The end 18 is also provided with ya lug or ear 23 to which one end of the spring `24: is anchored. Secured to the front side 'of Vthe transverse '.portion 15 by means of Lbol-ts 'me notch 21l is provided. with a nut 22 25 is a bearing 26. This bearing has a projection 27 that is downwardly and forwardly inclined and to this the upper end of the support 28 is secured by means of bolts 29. The lower end of support 28 Ahas a foot 20 that is adapted to rest upon the upper surface of the lug 8, in the manner shown inFig. 4. The heel 31 is adapted to prevent forward sliding of the foot 30. lt will now be evident that the frame coniprising parts 13, 14 and 15 is positively prevented from moving downwardly beyond the position shown in Figs. 2l vand 4 but it can move freely upwardly or in a counter slockwise direction. Bearings 33 and 33el are secure-d to the side members 13 and 14, respectively7 and are each provided with a quadrant 34, 34a. lil-shaped yoke members 35 35a are pivoted respectively between the'bearings 25, 33 and 26, 33a. As these U-shaped members are identical e); cept that one is a cright andy the other a left, we will limit our description to member 35a (Fig. 5). lt will be noticed that this member has its ends 36 and 37 bent at right angles to the parallel side members i, 38 so that the ends 36 and 37 are in axial alignment. A handle 39a is welded to one of the side' members 38 and is provided with a pawl 40a that is adapted to engage the notches 41a in the quadrant '34,

From Fig. 2 it will be seen that the axis of the handle forms an angle of less than ninety degrees with the plane of the U- shaped member and since the handle is welded to the U-member the latter can be lrotated about the axis of the ends 36 and 37 and held in adjusted position by the pawl 40a and the quadrant 34a. Pivoted at their ends to the transverse portions 35 and 35a are U-shaped bails 42 and 42?L which enclose the plow beams 43Vand are journaled in bearings 44. When the handle 39a is moved about its'pivot the beam 43 will be moved up or down as may be desired. The forward ends of the beams 43 are each provided with a transverse plate 45 whose lower end has a -i notch or hole through which the rod 46 eX- tends. The rear end of this rod is anchored to the beam at 47. Secured to the front `end of each rod 46 is 'a link 48 whose free end is attached to a clevis 49 that in turn is pivoted to the end of the evener 12 (Fig. 3) by means of a pin 50. Rods 51 are also secured to the clevises 49 at one end and to chains 52 at the other end. ln Fig. 3 l have shown how the rear end of each beam 43 is attached to oneend of the evener 12 by means of the rod 51 and chain 52 while the front `end of each beam is attached to the other end of the evener by means of the rods 46 and 48. It is now apparent that the force required to pull each of the plows, is transmitted to the plow from opposite ends of the evener l2 and is substantially equally distributed between the front and the rear of the beam. The resultant of these forces must pass through the pivot 11 and it is therefore evident that the force is applied to the tractor at the center line thereof. Secured to the support 28 is a rod 53 whose lower end is bent into the form of a rino 54 through which the chains 52 pass and by which they are supported.

lWhen the handles 39 or 39a are moved so as to raise or lower the plows, the bails 42 or 42 will pivot on 35 and 35ZL and this makes it possible to raise and lower the plows without the back and forth movement which would take place if the plows were connected directly to the parts 35 and 35. This is an important feature of the construction. The fact that the plows are also supported by a framework that permits them to move upwardly whenever this is necessary is also of great value as this floating support removes the danger of breakage.

The plows are such as are ordinarily employed and form no part of this invention except in so far as they are elements of the kcombination and are each provided with the ordinary landside 55, moldboard 56 and a plow share 57.

Attention is called in particular to the ease with which the plows may be detached as it is merely necessary to remove the pivot pin 11 and the nuts 22 in order to remove the plows and the entire hitch device with the exception of the angular attaching plate.

lf it is preferred, the pivot 11 may be left in place and the pins 50`removed from the clevises, in either case the disconnection can be made very easily and quickly. y

Bykthe simple expedient of attaching the evener to the tractor to the front of the rear axle, several advantages are secured among which may be mentioned a smaller .variation inthe depth of the furrow due to the fact that the point of hitch is located between the front and rear axles and is therefore subjected to a smaller vertical movement due to irregularities of the ground than a point at or to the rear of the rear axle and besides this it makes the point accessible for connecting and disconnecting the plows.

lVe desirefto call particular attention to the fact that the front end of the beams are connected to the tractor by means of the link 48 and bar 46 in such a manner that this end of the beam can freely move up and down and also to a limited extent sidewise. rlhis mode of connection gives great flexibility and permits the plow to adjust itself quite readily to inequalities in the ground. A further advantage of this connection is that when the plow is raised the front end of the beam will be moved upwardly to such an extent that the under surface of the plow will be upwardly inclined whereby the plow will simply slide out of the ground by the resultant of the forces exerted thei'eon by the tractor and thus reducing to a minimum the force that the operator must applyV to the levers. The springs 24 are so connectedl to the bails 38 that they assist in raising the plows.

lVe'have heretofore called particular attention .to the fact that the main U-shaped frame is pivoted to the axle housing and free to move upwardly but limited in its downward movement'by the stop 28. rlhis construction is very important because it often happens that the fields that are being plowed have ditches or other depressions into which the tractor wheels'drop and unless the plows were so attached that they could freely move upwardly, the entire weight of the tractor would have to be supported by the plows when these conditions occurred. This is prevented by the floating construction described above. j

I-Iaving now described the invention what is claimed as new is:

l. In combination with a tractor having a differential housing, an axle housing extending outwardly from each side thereof, a lug extending rearwardly from the differential housing, a U-shaped frame having its ends pivotally secured to the axle housing and adapted to engage the lug so as to pre-` on opposite sides of the differential housing and a support member secured to the :trame vent the frame from moving downwardly.

2. In combination with a tractor having a `difleientia-l housing, an axle housing .extending outwardly from each side thereof, a lug extending rearwardly from the dierential housing', a U-shaped frame having its ends pivotally secured to the axle housing on opposite sides of' the diierential housing, a support member secured to the frame and adapted to engage the lug so as to prevent the frame from moving downwardly and a U-shaped bail pivotally secured to the frame and means forrotatiiig said bail about its pivots and f'or locking it against movement.

3. vIn combination with a tractor having a differential housing, an axle housing extending outwardly from each side thereof, a lugv extending rearwardly from the-differential housing, a U-shaped frame having its ends.

pivotally secured to the axle housing on opposite sidesl of lthe differential housing, a support member secured to the frame and adapted to engage the lug so as to prevent the frame from moving downwardly and a U-shaped bail pivotally secured to the frame,

a second U-sliaped bail pivotally attached to the first bail, means for rotating` the rst mentioned bail about its pivots so as to adjust it with respect to.; the frame and means for locking it iii adjusted position.

4. In combination withk a tractor having a i differential housing, an axleliousing extending outwardly from each side thereof, a lug extending rearwardly from the differential housing, a U-s'liaped frame having rits ends pivotally secured to the axle housing on opposite sides of the differential housing,a support member secured to the frame and adapted to engage the lug so as to prevent the frame from moving downwardly and a U-shaped bail pivotally secured tothe frame, a second U-shaped bail pivotally attached to the first bail, a plow beam having its foi'- ward end attached to the tractor, means for attaching the beam tothe second bail, means for rotating thel rst named bail about its pivot so as to adjust its position witn respect to the frame and means for locking it in adjusted position. n.

5. Avtractor hitch comprising an evener pivotallyl attached to the tractor, a plow. `beam,means for attaching the front end of said beam to one end of the evener end, means for attaching the rear end of said beam to the other endy of the evener, and

to the frame, means for holding said bailv iii adjusted position and a second U-shaped bail secured to the plow beam and pivoted to thefirst mentioned bail.

' 6. A tractor hitch forv securing a plow to a` tractor having a `rear axlev housing, an evener, pivotally attached to the underside of the tractor to the front of therear axle, a plow bea-m, means for securing the front end of said beam to one end of the evener, means for securing the rear end of the beam to the other end of the evener, and means for raising and lowering the beams comprising a U-shaped frame pivoted to the` axle housing, means :for holding the -frame `against movement in one direction, a U- shaped bail pivotally secured-to the frame,

a second U-shaped bail secured to the beam' and pivoted atl its ends to the i'st bail and i means for holding the firstmentioiied bail in adjusted position with respect to the frame.

A In testimony whereof we affix our signatures.

EMERY E. BAsHoR. EDWARD N. wiiAY. 

